efficient. How long were they staying? Purpose of visit? A Galactic tour to celebrate retirement. Address on planet? The Excelsior, a top hotel, where Morgan had booked rooms as they cruised in on their final approach to the station.
Morgan dithered while the nice young man processed Ravindra. She was the one who risked being recognized. Perhaps she should have changed her appearance. Then again, she had, hadn't she? Contact lenses. Blue eyes. Anyway, how unlucky would she be to meet an ex-colleague here? No, one chance in millions.
Ravindra joined her, looking around the clean, uncluttered halls. Music filtered through hidden speakers. A group of people sat around a table near a view screen outside a café, admiring the slowly rotating starscape as the station turned on its axis. A fellow in a red suit hurried along a travelator, pushing past a number of others taking their time, a few people strolled past shop windows.
"Not busy," Ravindra said.
"The representatives aren't meeting. It's busy then." Morgan had explained the parliamentary system to him. The representatives were elected or nominated from each of the over three hundred planets that made up the Coalition, but they only came to Torreno in person every second year, for six months. This was an 'off' year.
Finally, Tullamarran was passed through the barrier. They all caught the travelator to the station's center, where they transferred to an elevator car for the ride down to the planet's surface, a journey which took forty minutes. Morgan bought kaff from the car's refreshment counter, and sat at a window with the others, who were peering down through the clouds at a new, alien world.
"Very different to Iniciara," Prasad said, as the car descended through the cloud barrier into the open air.
Clear air surrounded the city towers, the tallest still much lower than the edifices on Iniciara.
"Is that all garden space between the buildings?" Jirra asked.
"The city is set up to fit in with nature," Morgan said. "There are gardens in the city centre, but further out there are vegetable patches between the houses. All the buildings are basically solar powered and they collect their own water."
Tullamarran surprised everybody with a smile. "Almost like a spaceship on the ground."
Jirra's eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"
His cheeks darkening, Tullamarran licked his lips.
"Come on, tell us what you mean," Ravindra said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well, Srimana , in space we have the hydroponic units, and we recycle all water and… and all our waste."
"Yes, I suppose so."
Morgan wasn't at all sure Tullamarran had spent much time on a planet since he joined the Fleet. This was quite an adventure for him, even though he would spend most of his days looking after Ravindra's needs.
The lift pinged. 'Five minutes to landing. All passengers please be seated.'
One of the great things about using an elevator instead of a shuttle was it landed right in the city centre. Morgan collected her few belongings, and shuffled into the queue with the other passengers. Ravindra, of course, strode to the front. He simply expected people to make way for him, and they did, albeit with a grumble or two. Morgan hid the grin, as she listened to a middle-aged woman complaining to a long-suffering companion about the rude foreigner with the outlandish hairdo.
Little did the woman know how outlandish he was.
A short ride in an autocab brought them to their hotel, an elegant building in a leafy street. Morgan and Ravindra had the penthouse, with a separate room for Tullamarran, while Jirra, Davaskar and Prasad had been installed in superior rooms two floors below.
Davaskar suppressed a yawn as they crowded into the lift. "The first thing I'm going to do is have a shower and get some sleep."
Morgan didn't miss the look Prasad and Jirra shared as they left the lift at their floor.
Two floors above, the lift door slid aside, revealing a softly-lit apartment with a wonderful, panoramic
Morgan dithered while the nice young man processed Ravindra. She was the one who risked being recognized. Perhaps she should have changed her appearance. Then again, she had, hadn't she? Contact lenses. Blue eyes. Anyway, how unlucky would she be to meet an ex-colleague here? No, one chance in millions.
Ravindra joined her, looking around the clean, uncluttered halls. Music filtered through hidden speakers. A group of people sat around a table near a view screen outside a café, admiring the slowly rotating starscape as the station turned on its axis. A fellow in a red suit hurried along a travelator, pushing past a number of others taking their time, a few people strolled past shop windows.
"Not busy," Ravindra said.
"The representatives aren't meeting. It's busy then." Morgan had explained the parliamentary system to him. The representatives were elected or nominated from each of the over three hundred planets that made up the Coalition, but they only came to Torreno in person every second year, for six months. This was an 'off' year.
Finally, Tullamarran was passed through the barrier. They all caught the travelator to the station's center, where they transferred to an elevator car for the ride down to the planet's surface, a journey which took forty minutes. Morgan bought kaff from the car's refreshment counter, and sat at a window with the others, who were peering down through the clouds at a new, alien world.
"Very different to Iniciara," Prasad said, as the car descended through the cloud barrier into the open air.
Clear air surrounded the city towers, the tallest still much lower than the edifices on Iniciara.
"Is that all garden space between the buildings?" Jirra asked.
"The city is set up to fit in with nature," Morgan said. "There are gardens in the city centre, but further out there are vegetable patches between the houses. All the buildings are basically solar powered and they collect their own water."
Tullamarran surprised everybody with a smile. "Almost like a spaceship on the ground."
Jirra's eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"
His cheeks darkening, Tullamarran licked his lips.
"Come on, tell us what you mean," Ravindra said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well, Srimana , in space we have the hydroponic units, and we recycle all water and… and all our waste."
"Yes, I suppose so."
Morgan wasn't at all sure Tullamarran had spent much time on a planet since he joined the Fleet. This was quite an adventure for him, even though he would spend most of his days looking after Ravindra's needs.
The lift pinged. 'Five minutes to landing. All passengers please be seated.'
One of the great things about using an elevator instead of a shuttle was it landed right in the city centre. Morgan collected her few belongings, and shuffled into the queue with the other passengers. Ravindra, of course, strode to the front. He simply expected people to make way for him, and they did, albeit with a grumble or two. Morgan hid the grin, as she listened to a middle-aged woman complaining to a long-suffering companion about the rude foreigner with the outlandish hairdo.
Little did the woman know how outlandish he was.
A short ride in an autocab brought them to their hotel, an elegant building in a leafy street. Morgan and Ravindra had the penthouse, with a separate room for Tullamarran, while Jirra, Davaskar and Prasad had been installed in superior rooms two floors below.
Davaskar suppressed a yawn as they crowded into the lift. "The first thing I'm going to do is have a shower and get some sleep."
Morgan didn't miss the look Prasad and Jirra shared as they left the lift at their floor.
Two floors above, the lift door slid aside, revealing a softly-lit apartment with a wonderful, panoramic
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